Heartless: a Derek Cole Mystery Suspense Thriller (Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Book 1)
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Ralph and Derek talked about the case, how all the clues were there, and about what would happen to Thomas O’Connell. They talked about Straus and how, in the end, he got what he probably deserved: To die in agony in the same room that he held Alexander captive for so many years.
“What about the message I got when I landed in Albany,” Derek asked.
“Thomas assured us that he had nothing to do with that message. Using deductive reasoning, I determined that it was Ken O’Connell. See, as you know, his plan was all about extortion. Thomas’s plan was all about getting his brother out of the lodge and making everything public. Alexander’s plan was all about killing all the doctors. That Ken O’Connell sure was a smart man, but he also sure did make a lot of mistakes. The way I see it, he called and left that message for you to get you to thinking that Straus was behind Alexander’s release. That way, you’d be more inclined to focus your looking towards finding Straus.”
“I still don’t understand everything,” Derek said. “Like, how did Thomas get away from the guys his father had watching him?”
“According to Thomas, those guys protecting him only did so during the night. During the day, they’d pull that boat up to shore and take off doing whatever it was that O’Connell paid them to do. Thomas received an email from Alexander, telling him that it was time to implement their plan. He just walked off the boat, jumped on a plane, and was going to meet Alexander at the lodge. Thing was, by the time he got there, the lodge was a crime scene. He told us that he and Alexander had a backup plan. Two of ‘em actually. One was the paths marked with the hearts that I showed you, the other was to meet up in Manhattan.”
“How did Alexander find Ken O’Connell when he killed him?”
“O’Connell set Alexander up in an apartment in Manhattan. When he found out that Lucietta had been killed, he sent one of his goons over to find Alexander and probably to kill him. Alexander wasn’t in that apartment, but he left a note that was addressed to Ken O’Connell. We found the note tucked into O’Connell’s back pocket. Good thing he wasn’t burned up, or we never would have solved that part of the mystery.
“Note just told Ken where Alexander was expecting to meet him. O’Connell showed up with one of his goons. NYPD found his goon dead outside the old warehouse, and they found Ken dead inside the warehouse.”
“That means Alexander killed seven people, and Straus killed two. That’s a lot of activity for a small town chief of police,” Derek teased. “Good thing my old buddy Jared Smith was there to lend his hand.”
“Yup,” Ralph said, “this old Texas boy sure was in need of some help with this whole case.”
By the time the nurse came into Derek’s room and suggested that Derek be allowed to get some rest, Derek understood everything about the Alexander Black mystery. As Ralph stood to leave, he extended his hand to Derek.
“That glossy card you carry in your wallet? You think you got enough room to add another name to it?”
“I bet I can squeeze in a few more letters,” Derek said
“Put my name down on that card. And Derek?”
“Yeah, Ralph?”
“If you ever get called for another case in my neck of the woods, just give me a call instead of sneaking round. Deal?”
“Thanks Ralph. And yes, we have a deal.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
He was cold. Frigid. He struggled to open his eyes, to move, but none of his muscles responded. His mind swayed from reason to confusion, never remaining in reason long enough for him to string together consecutive thoughts.
The voices he heard, muffled and distorted as they bounced inside what seemed to be a narrow space, could not be understood. He knew that the voices were speaking words, but the meaning of them failed to register.
He slipped again. Somewhere deeper and much darker. His realization returned but offered no solution. No identifiable signs indicating a way to escape the deepness. He felt like he was in a hole, long, narrow, and too smooth for a hand to steal a pulling grip.
He then felt movement, the cause of which was not from his own choice but from some outside force. The movement was brief and halted with a shuttering shake. Instantly, he felt warmth, flooding over his still unreachable body. It offered a hope. A chance to come to some understanding and knowing. He thought the movement would offer an exit.
He imagined himself swimming in the cool waters of Piseco Lake, feeling the soft current wash over him. He knew that he still harbored the wish that he had taken the chance to swim that one day, so as to know what immersion would feel like. This feeling, now seen not as a dream but something foreboding, turned sour. It was cold, too cold, and was followed by pain, enhanced by his inability to prevent it’s directed march.
“Son of a bitch!” the medical examiner said. “We have a serious issue over here!”
The medical examiner stopped once the body’s chest cavity was fully opened, skin pulled back, and muscle tissue removed.
“Get someone down here, now!” she said to her assistant. “Now.”
I find the questions and comments I’ve received about this fictional book both amazing and curious. Several readers have connected with me on my Facebook author page, https://www.facebook.com/authortpp with questions that, for reasons known only to them, they felt more comfortable asking me in private. While I honestly enjoy hearing comments and constructive criticism, I have received a disturbing number of questions regarding the same topic. So I’d like to answer the most frequently asked questions here at the end of Heartless. I hope that you enjoy some of the questions as much as I did!
“I don’t think it’s realistic that someone could live without a heart or lungs. How can Alexander Black continue to live without these important organs?” Heartless is a work of FICTION, meaning that it is not based on reality. I agree that living without a heart would present significant challenges.
“You wrote about the role genetics may have played in Alexander. Was his father also heartless?” No, Alexander’s father was born with a heart. I created his character to be more allegorically heartless.
“Is Derek Cole a real private investigator?” I’m sure that there is someone out in the world with the same name who may be a private investigator, but, again, this is a work of FICTION and any and all similarities with anyone, living or dead, is 100% coincidental.
“At the end, it seems that Alexander is still alive. Will he make a return in another Derek Cole book?” Alexander Black is a huge mystery. From his birth to his time on the medical examiner’s table. Will he survive and live to continue his evil ways? Only Derek Cole knows for sure, and he isn’t talking to me since I had him get shot in the stomach. (Sorry Derek).
“When is the next Derek Cole book coming out?” Those of the Margin, the second in the Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Series was released in October. However, it was released in error. It had not been professionally edited before the scheduled release date arrived. We left it up for nearly a full week, received over 5,000 downloads before we realized it was in rough shape. It is being edited now (editor found over 100 errors!), and will be released in November. “The Observer,” the third Derek Cole book, will be released in 2015. And, if I may be so bold, it is the best Cole series written (so far).
I write a lot. Always have. It’s not atypical for me to pound out 5,000 words in a single day. Since I was 11, I knew I wanted to be a novelist, but I had no idea how difficult it is to make your mark in the publishing industry. Beyond producing the best content I can, having thousands (millions) of people read my books and working with my creative team (editor, content editor, beta readers and marketing firm), the best way for a new author to gain some traction is via “Reader Reviews.”
The averages are disturbing: Less than 1% of people who buy a book, leave a review. But with Amazon, it’s very hard to get people to download a book unless it has 100 or so reviews. A horrible catch 22. So on behalf of all my fellow authors out there, please take a minute or two to leave an he
lpful and honest review of Heartless and any other book you’ve read. It means a lot to me and to authors around the world.
Lastly, I’ve already mentioned my Facebook Author’s page https://www.facebook.com/authortpp and I invite you to connect with me there, ask any questions you’d like or even make a suggestion for a Derek Cole Series novel. As a thank you for reading, I am including the first few chapters of the next book in the Derek Cole Series, "Those of the Margin." It is available in both paperback and ebook through Jabby House Publications.
Thank you for reading!
T Patrick Phelps